


maybe i'm in love (sunlight shimmering love)

by parkjinchu



Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Declarations Of Love, Domestic Fluff, Falling In Love, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, True Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-20
Updated: 2017-10-20
Packaged: 2019-01-20 06:13:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12426669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/parkjinchu/pseuds/parkjinchu
Summary: For as long as he could remember, Lee Dongmin had been in love with love. He aspired for a love like his parent's.this is a work of fiction, and in no way represents the real lives of astro's members. in case of astro/fantagio/reasonable fan request, this fic will be taken downread full disclaimer on my profile





	maybe i'm in love (sunlight shimmering love)

**Author's Note:**

> 1) yes the title is from accidentally in love shhhh it makes sense for the fic okay  
> 2) ocmpletely unedited i just whipped this up bc i was in a good mood here u go

For as long as he could remember, Lee Dongmin had been in love with love.

He’d always been fascinated by the kissing, hugging, hand-holding. By the giggles, and whispers, and teasing. He would observe the teenagers in cafes, feet tangling and cheeks pink, shaky hands and nervous laughter. The university students, bags full of assessment they work on together, fixing each other’s glasses and massaging each other’s hands from cramps. Adults, who argue over what to eat for dinner and make sacrifices, who kiss when they think no one is watching, who laugh at everything mundane, because somehow it connects to a delightful memory in their past.

Dongmin’s parents were so in love. Some of his first memories featured him tucked in his parent’s embrace, after he interrupted their morning cuddles. Quietly chatting in the kitchen, teasing each other as they cut up ingredients. One kiss before his father leaves for one – no, two, maybe a third more. Excitement when they were reunited, even if only for a few hours, the pure joy of being close once again enough to make his mother squeak in delight.

He can remember his mother tying up his father’s tie every morning, _‘how come you can never remember?’_ , her reward a soft kiss on her forehead. He can remember his father in the supermarket, wondering which treat to buy his wife. Can remember the way they’d massage each other in the late night, as they watch television, how they’d tuck each other into bed and soothe each other into sleep.

Dongmin aspired for a love like his parent's.

“Love is about taking chances,” his father had told him one afternoon, as his mother cried happily over a positive pregnancy test. “Making sacrifices, and finding a middle ground,” he said, ruffling Dongmin’s hair.

One night, as his mother tucks him into bed, he asks, “Mummy, how much do you love Daddy?”

She is taken aback, at first, as her five-year-old peers over the duvet wrapped tightly around him, stuffed toy clutched in his little palm. Then, she smiles, settles herself on his bed, and pats his hair down. “Dongminnie, why do you ask?”

The boy shrugs. “I’m just wondering. You tell him you love him, a lot.”

His mother chuckles, tucking a fallen strand of hair behind her ear. She is still young, only fine lines framing her glittering smile, soft skin and dainty fingers, and wide, bright eyes. She takes a moment to decide on her answer, humming softly. “I love him like I love the sun,” she finally replies, nodding in affirmation.

Dongmin guffaws, “Like the sun?!” He cries. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

One of her hands pats him on his chest, “You’ll figure it out one day, Min. One day, you’ll fall in love, and get married, and you’ll know what I mean.”

It’s from then on, that Dongmin longed for a love so strong, to learn what it meant to love like one loves the sun.

On the school playground, he’d married a girl called Yoojung. She was small and cute – she was puppies and kittens, but she was no sunshine. In middle school, he got a crush on a girl called Dahyun. She was pretty and smart – she was candy and milkshakes, but she was no sunshine. In high school, a girl called Doyeon fell for him. She was stunning and mature – she was coffee and roses, but she was no sunshine.

In college, Dongmin had begun to think his luck would run out. Perhaps, he thought, love wasn’t for everyone. Though everyone wanted it, maybe true love was only destined for a lucky handful. He envied his parents, who, to this day, still fawned over each other as if they’d met a week ago.

In college, however, he meets Moon Bin.

There had rarely been a moment in his life that Dongmin thought long and hard about romance and boys. His whole life, he had been so set on finding a lovely wife, so he could replicate what his parents had, that he had supressed all thoughts he’d had about boys.

Moon Bin liked him. Bin _really_ liked him.

In their literature class, their assigned seats positioned themselves right next to each other. Day One, Moon Bin had forgotten his pencil case and had to ask Dongmin to borrow a pencil. Day Twenty-Two, he’d asked Dongmin for help, and they spent two hours in the library sharing embarrassing stories. Day Forty-Nine, Moon Bin bought him a single rose, and nervously asked him on a date at his dorm door.

Until then, Dongmin would have never said yes. Yet, there Bin had stood, fidgeting and sweating and shaking, shoving the rose in Dongmin’s palms and stuttering, “L-Lee Dongm-min – will you-you pl-please go on a d-date with me?” Then, he bowed deeply, running away before Dongmin even had the chance to answer.

That night, he’d twirled the rose between his fingers and wondered if the feeling in his heart was permitted. Was he allowed to feel this churning in his chest, for a boy?

He remembers his father’s words, _Love is about taking chances_ , and, very early the next morning, before the sun had risen, but long after it had set, Dongmin called the boy.

“Bin?”

“… Yeah?”

“I’ll go on a date with you.”

There was a cheer.

As it turned out, taking a chance was the best decision of Dongmin’s life.

Moon Bin took him to see a romance film, and in a sudden burst of confidence and emotions he’d held in for so long finally unleashed, Dongmin kissed him in the back row. Bin had tasted of chocolate and salty popcorn and the _Sprite_ they were sharing. Neither of them know how the film ends, as they were too busy mapping each other out in the dark that night.

Dongmin learns many things about this boy. Bin’s hands are rough, but strong. He likes to indulge in chocolate and expensive meat. He could eat for hours and still be hungry. He can dance like no tomorrow. Bin takes a while to comprehend things, but can cook without recipes. His lips curl inward when he smiles, and when he kisses. He likes to be in charge when they make love. It’s hard to get him out of bed in the morning after he starts cuddling.

A year or two later, Moon Bin had asked him to move in. Bin had a dingy little apartment on the edge of the city centre, but they made it feel like a home. As they got older, and finished their college courses, they moved into a slightly bigger apartment together. Officially a home that was _theirs_ , from the very beginning.

They continue to go on dates, feeding each other sweet cakes and kissing in little alleyways where they pretend no one can see them. They argue over what to eat for dinner, and end up buying take-out anyway. They massage the knots out of each other’s muscles as they watch crappy romance dramas.

Sunday mornings, when their sheets have soaked in the sun, but the air is still cold, they chat quietly, playing with each other’s hands. As they make lunch, throwing scraps of food at each other and making fun of their antics. A kiss before they part for work, then another, and another, and one more, because eight hours feels too long to spend apart.

“Dongmin?” Bin calls from their bedroom.

Dongmin stumbles out of the kitchen and into their room, where Bin is sat on the corner of their bed, head bowed. “Babe?” Dongmin asks, a hint of worry in his tone. One hand on Bin’s back, he crouches to his level. “Are you okay?” As he turns to face his boyfriend, he discovers his work tie in a huge knot around his neck. “Oh, wow.”

“I forgot how to tie it.”

“I showed you yesterday.”

“I’ve already forgotten,” Bin admits bashfully, and shakes Dongmin’s arm. “Min, _help me_.”

Dongmin sighs, tugging on the tie to pull it loose. “You’re like a big baby,” he mocks, softly, which makes Bin smile. With precision and muscle memory, Dongmin winds the tie around Bin’s neck and swiftly tightens it, presses it flat to his abdomen. “There. You look smart, handsome man,” he chimes, smoothing his hands over Bin’s chest.

He stares at the knot he made, the way it sits at the base of Bin’s strong neck. He remembers, briefly, the way his mother would tie his father’s tie when he was a child – how he’d equated that with true love. Dongmin had always imagined a girl would tie his tie around his neck, would press her dainty fingers into the knot she’d made and kiss him. Yet, here he was, tying Bin’s tie, instead.

He wouldn’t have it any other way.

There was never a moment that Dongmin doubted he was in love. Which is why, when Bin proposes, he immediately says yes. Bin proposes to him on the night of their fourth anniversary, on a picnic blanket beneath the stars. They wipe away each other’s tears that glisten under the light of the moon. Bin gets a bruise on his shoulder blade from where Dongmin tackles him in a hug, kissing him deeply (Dongmin tends to the graze, and prods at the bruise for the following few days).

After they wed, on a warm Spring afternoon, they adopt a baby boy. Named Sanha, he sleeps in a bassinet at the foot of their bed. He’s a jolly little baby, with a round button nose and a shrieking laugh. There was never a missing piece in their life that Sanha had been destined to fulfil – no, Sanha only made their already full hearts overflow.

Their son grows up observing their love.

One night, as Dongmin tucks the boy into bed, Sanha asks, “Daddy, how much do you love Papa?”

Nostalgia scratches at the back of his mind, recalling the night he asked his mum this very question. _I love him like I love the sun_ , his mother had said. He understands, now.

The sun. It brightened their days, it gave them food, it gave them air. The sun brings life to what otherwise would be lifeless. They could not live without it. And, like the sun, Dongmin could not live without Bin.

“I love him like I love the sun, Sanha.”

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed! you can find me on twitter and tumblr under parkjinchu


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